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Nope — I don’t mean La Mer cream or gold toilets. Our “luxury items” are those items that are housed in plastic (particularly #7, which our city takes but doesn’t really have a market to sell those plastics to) or end up in the landfill. But for now — these items are what we have, love, or haven’t found suitable recyclable or zero waste alternatives for.

Sonicare brush heads (landfill): Can’t quit these! They keep my teeth in great condition and I’m not willing to switch over the bamboo toothbrushes yet. Maybe someone can make bamboo brush heads or something for Sonicares?

Makeup products (landfill or Origins): I love makeup and skincare. And I’m not giving them up anytime soon. But unfortunately, a lot of these containers are mixed materials. My only option for my empties is taking them to Origins with the Return to Origins program. Better than the landfill, right? This still isn’t ideal for me and I would love to move towards getting products with compostable or reusable packaging. Any favorite brands?

Dog food bags (landfill): My dogs have to eat. And they both require their own special foods for various reasons. This isn’t even a luxury item. It’s just a real life necessity. And that’s totally okay.

Frozen fruits/veggies bags (landfill): I’ve been cutting back on these but every once in a while, I just need some frozen peas! I guess I could shell my own peas and freeze them but, I’m sorry, I don’t have time for all that! I wish these bags were more eco-friendly. If anyone has any recommendations, let me know!

Styrofoam take out containers (landfill): Although a lot of these have that little #6 on the bottom, nope, they are seldom recyclable curbside (and if they are in your location, there isn’t much market to actually recycle them). You can find a list of places near you that might take these here but even in a big city like Dallas, there are only 1 or 2 locations. But I still love me some takeout. And I haven’t yet grown the balls to take my own container to my favorite Tex-Mex place and ask them to fill it (since I strongly doubt they would due to “sanitary” reasons or whatever). I have been good about not taking my leftovers home in restaurant takeout containers but for the occasional pick up, yep, we still get a small handful of these every month.

I don’t think zero waste/minimalism and loving fashion and beautiful homes have to be mutually exclusive. I think it just means being mindful of purchases. With that in mind… I only recently got into the whole thrifting thing. I know, I know. What was I doing? But I made a resolution this year to ONLY buy thrifted clothing items. Nothing new. Actually, initially — my idea was to not buy any new clothes until March. But once I started thrifting, I realized I could do it the rest of the year — no problem. My husband even got in on it too. I feel good about buying clothes that are already out in the “clothing stream” and I’m happy to give new life to clothes that could otherwise end up unworn, thrown away, or sent to another country (to then ultimately end up in that country’s waste stream). I also learned that thrifting doesn’t mean my only option is to go to the thrift store and sift through unorganized racks for hours on end. If I’m looking for a particular item or something a little higher end, Poshmark and ThredUp have been fabulous. For those of you scared of thrifting, don’t be. There are finds to be had! So if you need a little encouragement, here are the items I’ve picked up (for quite a steal) over the past 3 months. (And of course — I follow the one in-one out rule in my closet!)

First up… the tops.

These 2 sweaters are from the thrift store and cost a whopping $3 each. The rain boot one is from Talbots and retails for $89.

Another $3 thrift store find. Thought it was cute for Valentine’s Day.

This was a new with tags find at the thrift store. This is a made in the USA Anthropologie Maison Du Soir Oui shirt. It’s currently sold out online and retails for somewhere around $80. Since it was in the new with tags section, this cost more than most of the other thrift store finds at $15.

This Madewell donegal 100% cashmere sweater was a Poshmark find. It’s brand new and cost 50% off retail — about $60.

Both pairs of short are Gap. The top one is from ThredUp at cost $8. The bottom is from the thrift store at cost $4.

Add to specialty recycling receptacles
Small metal scraps (nails, safety razor blades, bottle caps) in tin (recycle regularly when full)
Electronics and old batteries for city’s electronics recycling
Toothpaste and floss tubes for recycling by TerraCycle’s Colgate Recycling Program
Beauty/skincare/makeup/hair empties in box to go to Returns to Origins Program
Packaging material for re-use
Fabric that cannot be donated for recycling by city

We all have bits and bobs floating around the house — most are things that go unused because a. we have no need for it b. we have too many of the item c. we don’t like/use it anymore but hold on to it because we don’t want to throw our hard earned money in to the trash. While some of these items may end up in the landfill, most can be donated somewhere it will be given a second life. Yes — your local Goodwill or Salvation Army will take a large chunk of your donations. However, recently I’ve been working on “spreading out” my donations to other organizations that might only collect very specific items. I feel that donating this way allows my donations to go where they might be utilized faster, instead of wasting away on a dusty Goodwill shelf.

Clothing and Shoes

Good options for donating clothing (besides Goodwill) are local shelters and Dress for Success. For shoes (that are still wearable), I like donating to Zappos’ Soles 4 Souls (they also take clothing). Zappos will provide you with a pre-paid shipping label — just attach it to a box, fill with shoes, and send away! If your athletic shoes are beyond repair, donate to Nike Reuse-a-Shoe — just drop your shoes off at one of their stores and it will be recycled in to Nike Grind material (to make athletic surfaces).

* However, if an item is pricier or mostly new — I will try to sell it on Poshmark, ThredUp, or Ebay. I’ve read that many people have also had luck selling these items directly on Instagram.

Unused or Gently Used Beauty Products

This is definitely where I am guilty. I love beauty products/skincare — and will frequently move on to a new product before finishing up the old one. Or trying samples, not loving it, and still keeping it around (I’m working on it!). Recently, I found Project Beauty Share in Spokane, WA. They are one of the few places I have found that take not only new but gently used beauty products (that can be sanitized). And you can ship to them! The products go to “women and families overcoming abuse, addiction, homelessness and poverty.”I packed up a small box with products and shipped it to them for just a few bucks. Definitely worth it. If you have completely unused products, your local womens’ shelters usually take these items as well.

I usually never donate these supplies to Goodwill because I don’t think too many people are going there in search of a half used tube of acrylic paint or a sad spool of yarn. Instead, search for local organizations that take old art supplies (or even ask any teacher friends if their school is in need of any of these items). In North Texas, I found Scrap Denton and a preliminary search in Houston led me to the Texas Art Asylum (they really seem to take EVERYTHING!). I’m sure most major cities have some place to donate all the random craft and hobby supplies people tend to accumulate over the years.

Pens + Other Writing Utensils

We all have that random stash of pens collected from hotels, company events, the dentist, etc. (We really need to stop accepting these things that will ultimately end up sitting at the bottom of a drawer.) I send all my extra/old/broken pens, markers, crayons, etc. to Pen Guy Art and only keep a small handful of writing utensils that I like and use. This only cost me a few bucks and I know the pens will be used in a unique way.

Old Magazines, Books, DVDs

Try your local library before resorting to Goodwill.

* I don’t buy many books these days as I tend to get everything from the library. However, when we paired down our book collection, most were sold to our local Half Price Books.

Your local food pantry. One that I volunteered at took items that were expired up to 1 year (depending on the type of item). Check with your local pantry for their guidelines.

Home Goods and Tchotchkes

I haven’t found a great place to donate these besides Goodwill. Freecycle is another option to give away miscellaneous items to people in your own community. I’ve seen the most random items on here and they generally get claimed really quickly. (I once donated old candle wax that I was about to toss to a father whose daughters were working on some project that needed wax. Random but I’m glad the wax went to a good home instead of the landfill.) Give it a try if you are at a loss for where to donate an item.

What are some other items you have trouble donating? Have you found any other resources to donate the random items in your life?

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About

Howdy! I'm Meera. I'm a native Texan, a general badass, wife, doggo mom x 3, world traveler, and minimalist with zero waste aspirations. When not working as a grants manager at an awesome non-profit, I read an excessive number of YA books, play with my adorable puppers, constantly rearrange our home, and travel the world with my lovely husband.

You'll find me writing (solely for fun!) about my adventures in minimalism, zero waste, house sprucing, traveling, food, finances, and self care -- all while trying to live the simple life.